Homeostasis

Body Fluids & Blood

Dr. Sahar Greish

 Body Water

The Total Body Water (TBW) represents about

60% of the total body weight.
TBW is variable:
 infant: 73%
 male adult: 60%

 female adult: 40-50%

 Old age 45%

 Functions of Body Water

 Main Functions:
 Solvent
 Transport

 Other Functions:
 Give shape and form to the cells
 Regulate body temp.
 Joint lubricant
 Cushion body organs (e.g. CSF for CNS)
 FLUID COMPARTMENTS

EXTRA CELLUAR INTRA CELLULAR

FLUID FLUID

INTERSTITIAL TRANSCELLULAR
PLASMA FLUID
FLUID

CSF
Intra ocular
Pleural
Peritoneal
Synovial
Digestive Secretions
 Body Water Distribution

Intracellular Interstitial Plasma

Body Water Distribution
TBW = 0.6 x 70 Kg (Body Weight in adult male) = 42 L
Body Water Distribution
TBW = 0.6 x Body Weight in adult male (70 Kg)
 COMPOSITION OF BODY FLUIDS
CATIONS (mmol/l) Plasma Interstitial Intracellular
Na 142 139 14

K 4.2 4.0 140

Ca 1.3 1.2 1 × 10−4

Mg 0.8 0.7 20

ANIONS (mmol/l)

Cl 108 108 4.0

HCO3 24.0 28.3 10

Protein 1.2 0.2 4.0

HPO4 2.0 2.0 11

 Water Balance
 Water balance: Input = output

 Dehydration is an abnormal reduction of the

major fluid volumes

 Overhydration is an abnormal increase of

total body water
 Homeostasis
Homeostasis is
keeping the
internal
environment
constant (dynamic
steady state) Internal Environment
is the extracellular
fluid
 Homeostasis
 Constant (dynamic steady state)
Input or gain = output or loss
 Why do we need a nearly constant
internal environment?

For proper function of the living cells

Disturbed homeostasis leads to illness or death
Factors that are homeostatically
regulated
 Concentration of nutrient substances

 Concentration of O2 and CO2

 Concentration of waste products

 Concentration of water and electrolytes

 Temperature, pH, blood pressure

Setpoint for each biological variable
Body temperature 37 oC
Heart rate 70 beat/minute
Respiratory rate 16 breath/minute
Blood pressure 120/80 mmHg
Arterial blood pH 7.4
Plasma Na+ 142 (mEq/L)
Plasma osmolarity 290mosm/L
 Homeostatic control systems are
operating by negative feedback
The action taken
opposes the change
in the variable.
It leads to
maintaining steady
state (keeping the
variable around the
set point)
Components of
Reflex Control
Components of Homeostatic
Control Systems
Water Balance

18
Physical Characteristics and Volume

 Blood is a sticky, opaque fluid with metallic taste

 Color varies from scarlet (oxygen-rich) to dark red
(oxygen-poor)
 The pH of blood is 7.35–7.45
 Temperature is 38C, slightly higher than normal body
temperature
 Blood accounts for approximately 8% of body weight
 Average volume of blood is 5–6 L for males, and 4–5 L
for females
 Functions of Blood

Blood performs a number of functions

dealing with:
1. Substance distribution
2. Regulation of blood levels of
particular substances (Homeostasis)
3. Body protection
 Distribution

Blood transports:
 Oxygen from the lungs and
nutrients from the digestive tract
 Metabolic wastes from cells to the
lungs and kidneys for elimination
 Hormones from endocrine glands
to target organs
 Regulation
Blood maintains:
 Body temperature by absorbing and
distributing heat
 Normal pH in body tissues using
buffer systems
 Adequate fluid volume in the
circulatory system
 Protection

 Blood prevents blood loss (Haemostasis) by:

 Activating plasma proteins and platelets

 Initiating clot formation when a vessel is

broken
 Blood prevents infection by:
 Synthesizing and utilizing antibodies

 Activating WBCs to defend the body against

foreign invaders
 Blood Composition

Without blood,
human life is
impossible

Fluid Portion Cellular Portion

-Plasma consisting of: -Blood cells :
• water • Red blood cells
• proteins • White blood cells
• salts • Platelets
• nutrients
• vitamins
• hormones

25
Major components of blood:
Plasma
Clear liquid made up of 90% water and
10% organic and inorganic biochemicals.

albumin globulin

Plasma Proteins

fibrinogen prothrombin
 Plasma Proteins:
1- Albumin
 Synthesized in the liver. It is the protein
in highest concentration.
 It makes the greatest contribution to the
colloid osmotic pressure of plasma.

2-Fibrinogen
 Is converted to fibrin during clotting.
 Plasma Proteins:
3- Prothrombin
 Has a role in blood clotting

4- Globulins
 One subtype is gamma globulins , or immuno
globulins act as circulating antibodies
important in immune response.
 Erythrocytes (RBCs)
 Biconcave discs,
anucleate, has no
organelles.
 Filled with
hemoglobin (Hb), a
protein that functions
in gas transport; can
reversibly binds with
oxygen
Red Blood Cells
• Produced in the bone marrow in
response to erythropoietin
• Red blood cells live about 120 days
(Life span)
• Average red blood cells 5 million in a
cubic millimeter of blood
– Male = 4.5 to 6.5
– Female = 4.5 to 5.5
 Erythrocyte Function

 Hemoglobin reversibly binds with oxygen

 Hemoglobin is composed of the protein
globin, made up of two alpha and two beta
chains, each bound to a heme group
 Each heme group bears an atom of iron,
which can bind to one oxygen molecule
 Each hemoglobin molecule can transport
four molecules of oxygen
Structure of Hemoglobin

Figure 17.4
 Regulation and Requirements for
Erythropoiesis
 Erythropoiesis is hormonally controlled and depends on adequate
supplies of iron, amino acids, folic acid and B vitamins
 Erythropoiesis need healthy liver, kidney & bone marrow.
 Erythropoietin (EPO) released by kidneys (and liver to a smaller
extent) is triggered by:
 Hypoxia due to decreased RBCs
 Decreased oxygen availability
 Increased tissue demand for oxygen
 Erythropoietin Mechanism

Start
Normal blood oxygen levels Stimulus: Hypoxia due to
decreased RBC count,
decreased availability of O2
to blood, or increased
Increases tissue demands for O2
O2-carrying
ability of blood

Reduces O2
levels in blood

Erythropoietin
Kidney (and liver to a
Enhanced stimulates red
smaller extent) releases
erythropoiesis bone marrow
erythropoietin
increases RBC
count
 Erythrocyte Disorders
Anemia Polycythemia

Reduced RBCs Excess RBCs that

count or Decreased increase blood
hemoglobin content viscosity
(Leukocytes)
 Leukocytes (WBCs)
 Leukocytes, the only blood components that
are complete cells:
 Are less numerous than RBCs
 Make up 1% of the total blood volume

 Can leave capillaries via diapedesis

 Move through tissue spaces

 WBC :4,000 - 11,000 per cubic millimeter

 Normal response to bacterial or viral invasion
 WBCs
Granulocytes :
neutrophils,
eosinophils,
basophils
 Contain granules

 Are all phagocytic cells

Agranulocytes : lymphocytes
& monocytes
 Lack granules

 Are similar structurally,

with different function.
 Granulocytes
1- Neutrophils
 60-70% of WBCs.
 Highly mobile & can engulf debris or foreign
organisms by phagocytosis.
2- Eosinophils
 Account for 1–4% of WBCs
 They are phagocytic & are involved in destruction of
parasitic worms
3- Basophils
 Account for 0.5% of WBCs
 contain histamine
 Agranulocytes
1- Lymphocytes
 account for 25-30% of WBCs .
 are two types:
T cells and B cells

2- Monocytes
 account for 2–5% of WBCs
 are the largest leukocytes
 They leave the circulation, enter tissue, and
differentiate into macrophages
Platelets
 Platelets
1. Are fragments of large cells called
megakaryocytes, which are found in bone
marrow.
2. They lack nuclei but, like leukocytes, are
capable of amoeboid movement.
3. Count: from 130,000 to 400,000, per cubic
millimeter but this count can vary greatly under
different physiological conditions.
4. Life span: about 5-9 days before being
destroyed by the spleen and liver.
5. Platelets play an important role in blood clotting.
Hemostasis
 A series of reactions for stoppage of
bleeding.
 During hemostasis, three phases occur in
rapid sequence
 Vascular spasms
 Platelet plug formation
 Coagulation (blood clotting)
Haemostasis overview:
BV Injury
Contact/
Neural Tissue
Factor

Blood Vessel Platelet Coagulation

Constriction Aggregation Cascade
Primary hemostatic plug

Reduced Platelet
Activation Fibrin
Blood flow formation

Stable Hemostatic Plug

Vasoconstriction
The contraction of vessels result from:
(1) local myogenic spasm,

(2) local autacoid factors from the

traumatized tissues and blood platelets
(thromboxane A2).
(3) nervous reflexes (pain nerve impulses).
Platelet Plug Formation
Upon damage to blood vessel endothelium
(which exposes collagen) platelets:
 Stick to exposed collagen fibers and
form a platelet plug
 Release serotonin and ADP, which
attract more platelets.

 The platelet plug is limited to the

immediate area of injury.
Platelet Plug Formation
Coagulation
 Coagulation follows intrinsic and extrinsic
pathways
 The final three steps of this series of reactions
are:
 Prothrombin activator is formed
 Prothrombin is converted into thrombin
 Thrombin catalyzes the joining of fibrinogen into
a fibrin mesh.
Disorders Related to Excessive Bleeding

Hemophilia Thrombocytopenia

•Hereditary •Bleeding disorder with

disorder in which a lack of platelets
there is a lack of
the clotting factor
VIII •Occurs in the condition
called purpura which is
•Treated with the presence of multiple
medications and tiny hemorrhages under
blood transfusions the skin